These days the tennis world was hit with a sad news. The famous Czech tennis player Jana Novotná passed away on Sunday, 19 November, at the age of 49. She was one of the best female tennis players of the 1990s, as well as the Wimbledon champion of 1998. However, among Slovak tennis fans she was praised as the member of the Czechoslovak Fed cup team, which won the title in 1988. One of her Slovak teammates in 1988 was Radka Zrubáková.
"She was a very fair person, and I have only good memories of her. One example says it all; back in Melbourne 1988, when the captain was choosing between her and me for the singles match against the Russians, and eventually chose me, she did not take it personally or anything. She was there, very supportive, and I felt as if she was trying to win the match for me," admits Radka Zrubáková, Jana Novotná was a role model on a personal level, but no less importantly on an athletic level.
"She was one of the few players that played an active offensive tennis, back then there were not many players to play like that. In addition, her single-handed backhand was amazing and quite extraordinary for a female player."
Jana Novotná died after losing her fight against cancer.
